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>> August 30, 2018

The closest finish yet of the Asian Games came in the men’s 200m on the fifth day of athletics action in Jakarta on Wednesday (29).

It took a photo finish to separate Japan’s Yuki Koike and Chinese Taipei’s Yang Chunhan. After recording the same reaction time (0.139) and being level at half way, the two sprinters were inseparable for most of the race, the pair crossing the line in PBs of 20.23 (0.7m/s).

After an agonising wait, Koike was eventually confirmed as the winner. Chunhan, the Asian champion, had to settle for silver but was rewarded with a national record. Bahrain’s Mohamed Yacoob Salem was third in 20.55.

Koike beats Chunhan on the line; both cross the first 100m at 10.37s

Bahrain’s Edidiong Odiong, who had won the 100m earlier in the championships, completed a sprint double by winning the women’s 200m in 22.96, replicating the feats of Mona Sulaiman (1962), Esther Rot (1974), and Chisato Fukushima (2010).

As in the 100m, India’s Dutee Chand and China’s Wei Yongli finished second and third respectively, clocking 23.20 and 23.27. Defending champion Olga Safranova of Kazakhstan was fifth in 23.43.

Any one of his six marks would have been more than enough to win, but the five-time Asian champion saved his best for last, throwing 65.71m in the final round.

Iraq’s 2014 Asian junior champion Mustafa Al-Saamah was second with 60.09m and was the only other man to throw beyond 60 metres.

With one more day of athletics action at the Asian Games, China tops the medals table with 11 gold medals. Bahrain is second with nine gold medals, and India is third with five. 10 more titles are on offer on the final day, including the men’s 50km race walk, 1500m, 5000m, 4x100m, 4x400m, plus the women’s 1500m, triple jump, discus and the two relays.